Ex-army officer Ziaul Ahsan shown arrested in Salahuddin Ahmed disappearance case

The International Crimes Tribunal has formally shown former army officer Ziaul Ahsan arrested in a case over the alleged enforced disappearance of BNP leader and current Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed in 2015.

The tribunal also set October 27 for investigators to submit their report after completing the probe into the alleged disappearance.

International Crimes Tribunal-1 passed the orders on Thursday (August 27) following a hearing on a prosecution petition.

In line with an earlier order issued on August 10, Ziaul Ahsan was produced before the tribunal for the hearing.

The prosecution told the tribunal that it had found preliminary evidence of Ziaul Ahsan’s alleged involvement in Salahuddin’s disappearance and sought to show him arrested in the case. The tribunal granted the petition.

Ziaul Ahsan is already in jail after being shown arrested in several other cases involving alleged crimes against humanity.

Salahuddin Ahmed filed a complaint with the Chief Prosecutor’s Office on June 3, 2025, over his alleged disappearance. The complaint named Ziaul Ahsan along with former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, former inspector general of police Benazir Ahmed, former IGP AKM Shahidul Haque, former Dhaka Metropolitan Police commissioner Asaduzzaman Mia and former Special Branch chief Monirul Islam, among others.

Salahuddin, who was then a BNP joint secretary general, was allegedly picked up from a house in Uttara, Dhaka, on the night of March 10, 2015. Nearly two months later, on May 11, he was found in Shillong, the capital of India’s Meghalaya state, by local police.

He was subsequently prosecuted in India for allegedly entering the country without valid documents. After a lengthy legal process, he returned to Bangladesh on August 11, 2024, following the fall of the Awami League government on August 5.

The prosecution had earlier said its investigation had uncovered allegations linking senior figures of the then government and several law-enforcement officials to Salahuddin’s disappearance. However, no individual’s liability has been conclusively established at this stage.

The investigation report is expected to be submitted to the tribunal on October 27, after which further legal proceedings will be determined.